Some friends and I tried high tea at Queenโs Terrace Cafรฉ located inside Parliament House. After going through security, I head straight to the Information Desk as I have no idea where the cafรฉ is located. She directs me up the marble staircase and to the left. I must admit that I have a sense of disappointment as soon as I walk in as I see a canteen-like cafeteria (This is a few days after a wonderful elegant high tea at The Marion) with visitors of Parliament House lining up to order lunch. Thereโs no signage for high tea and no check-in desk so I walk over to one of the cleaners, who directs me to the waitress that can seat me for high tea. Turns out, high tea tables have โreservedโ signs on them and we are situated over by the windows.
Laid out on the table are plates, cutlery and individual menus. On reserving high tea, I booked a vegetarian dietary requirement for one of my friends, and am relieved that it isnโt forgotten.
Weโre asked for our coffee or tea orders first. No fancy teas here โ just your regular English breakfast, green tea, chamomile etc. I opt for an earl grey. I forget about it and end up steeping it too long for my liking so I didnโt end up finishing the pot. I order a mocha halfway through high tea which which is delicious.
We begin with a pea and ham soup served in miniature cups. Itโs rather gluggy and bland. I can barely make out any taste of ham.
After the soup, a three-tiered stand arrives filled with our goodies for two.
Top tier โ muscatel scones with whipped cream and house jam. The scones look dry, but are surprisingly soft and fluffy when I slice it in half.
Middle tier โ honeycomb chocolate รฉclair, citrus meringue tart, cherry berry slice, valrhona chocolate slice. The รฉclair is a little dry but I otherwise enjoy all of these sweet treats.
How cute is the little Parliament House symbol on the chocolate?
Bottom tier โ smoked salmon bruschetta with finger lime roe citrus dressing, mushroom tart with feta, panko prawn with desert lime kewpie, goats cheese vol au vent with zucchini blossom petal and truffle honey, cucumber and lemon myrtle finger sandwich. I enjoy all the savoury items. I do love a good cucumber sandwich โ it just has to have that super soft white bread and this one doesnโt disappoint.
My vegetarian friend receives her own plate of goodies with vegetarian alternatives – also a dumpling!
Our waitress kept enquiring on how we were going throughout the high tea, a little borderline over-eager. It wasnโt until we got up to leave, that she rushed over to tell us we still had one more dessert of ice cream to come. Thatโs why she kept asking us how we were going! Whoops. So we sat back down for our honey ice cream topped with honeycomb which is beautifully creamy and refreshing.
Overall, Queen’s Terrace Cafe provides a good high tea for the price point. The food is nicely presented and it’s definitely filling. Itโs not the most elegant place, but comfortable and quiet enough that you can have a conversation with friends. There was only the one waitress looking after all the high tea customers and she did a great job. One thing I didn’t like is the contrast between the organised booking system and the unorganised reality when arriving at the cafe. Some signage to ‘wait here’ or similar would be useful.
High tea is $55 per person including tea/coffee, or $65 per person including tea/coffee and sparkling wine. Available on weekends only – bookings essential via the website.
Queen’s Terrace Cafe
Parliament House
Parliament Drive, Capital Hill, Canberra
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